Tag Archives: transmission

The breakneck pace of clinical research means that, by necessity, there is little time to assess the past. But research published earlier this year in the Journal of Virology on the origins of the Hepatitis C virus (HCV) shows that such examination is not a morbid trip down memory lane, but rather can deliver key insights into current prevention efforts.

The study, from researchers at the University of Glasgow, dates the beginnings of HCV to the 1940s and says it most likely arrived through the mass treatment of soldiers in field hospitals across the country during WWII. Under circumstances of war, hastily organized and overwhelmed care units meant that HCV was easily spread easily between soldiers as their injuries were treated.

Using statistical analysis to examine the transmission dynamics, the researchers say, can help provide a basis for identifying HCV transmission hotspots. They posit that a more comprehensive understanding of exactly how hepatitis C virus is transmitted during times of significant spread could facilitate public health initiatives to reduce the prevalence of HCV in people who contract it through intravenous drug use.

The breakneck pace of clinical research means that, by necessity, there is little time to assess the past. But research published earlier this year in the Journal of Virology on the origins of the Hepatitis C virus (HCV) shows that such examination is not a morbid trip down memory lane, but rather can deliver key insights into current prevention efforts.

The study, from researchers at the University of Glasgow, dates the beginnings of HCV to the 1940s and says it most likely arrived through the mass treatment of soldiers in field hospitals across the country during WWII. Under circumstances of war, hastily organized and overwhelmed care units meant that HCV was easily spread easily between soldiers as their injuries were treated.

Using statistical analysis to examine the transmission dynamics, the researchers say, can help provide a basis for identifying HCV transmission hotspots. They posit that a more comprehensive understanding of exactly how hepatitis C virus is transmitted during times of significant spread could facilitate public health initiatives to reduce the prevalence of HCV in people who contract it through intravenous drug use.

In a group of young users of injection drugs, recent maintenance
opioid agonist therapy with methadone or buprenorphine for opioid use
disorders, such as heroin addiction, was associated with a lower
incidence of hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection and may be an effective
strategy to reduce injection-drug use and the resulting spread of HCV,
according to a study published online by JAMA Internal Medicine.

The use of injection drugs is a main route of
transmission for HCV infection. Younger drug users are an important
group to target because they are at the core of HCV infections.
Interventions that can prevent HCV infections are vital. Previous
studies have suggested that opioid agonist therapy may reduce the
incidence of HCV infection but little was known about the effect of this
therapy in young drug users.

Our results suggest that treatment for opioid use disorders with maintenance opioid agonist therapy can reduce transmission of HCV in young adult injection drug users and should be offered as an important component of comprehensive strategies for prevention of primary HCV infection,” the authors conclude.

The virus behind
Hepatitis C has been the target of virologists, epidemiologists and
geneticists for years, in a bid to find out the animal host from which
it likely came. But Prof Jonathan Ball, a virologist at the University
of Nottingham, UK, says early indications that bats are the culprit may
yet be proven wrong.

Known to be the source of a range of human viral infections such as Sars and ebola, a recent study published in PNAS suggests that bats are a large natural reservoir to groups of viruses similar to the hepatitis C virus (HCV).

Hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection is more common in people who have had a tattoo, research shows.

Significantly, this relationship held true in patients without other
risk factors for infection, such as a history of blood transfusion or
injection drug use.

“These
findings have important implications for screening non-injection drug
users in the United States, particularly since the prevalence of
tattooing is on the rise and intravenous drug use is on the decline,”
say Fritz Francois (New York University, USA) and colleagues.

The study is aimed at assessing the safety and immunogenicity of HCV prime-boost vaccinations ChAd3-hliNSmut and MVA-hliNSmut, administered intramuscularly in healthy volunteers and DAA treated patients. To read the entire study, click here Share This PageFollow Us … Continue reading → The post The study is aimed at assessing the safety and immunogenicity of HCV […]

The purpose of this study is to evaluate the efficacy and tolerability of DAA-based regimens in the clinical practice in HIV/HCV-coinfected patients. Hypothesis: The efficacy and tolerability of all DAA-based regimens in the clinical practice is different to what is … Continue reading → The post Real-life Security and Efficacy of DAA-based Therapy in 1,000 […]